Hi there,

There’s been a wave of recent news around big tech incumbents taking on traditional pharma roles. 

Google’s recent drug discovery collaboration with Sanofi speaks to the growing trend of synergies between tech & pharma players — especially as pressures to expedite drug research and streamline overall operations increase.  

This is a part of the larger phenomenon of tech companies encroaching on healthcare. 

Recently, Google made headlines with its rumored Project Nightingale — a partnership with Ascension — which reportedly gathered health data from millions of patients within the health network.   

This has inspired a lot of discussion around whether tech companies should be handling such sensitive data. 

Since patient privacy & confidentiality are huge issues in healthcare, many may feel unease with their data (even de-identified) being used without their knowledge or consent.

As tech incumbents enter the healthcare industry, this is just one of the key issues to keep an eye out for. Read on below for a more in-depth look.

But, first...

Problems Solved
 

At The Collective (Dec 10-11, NYC) attendees will hear from some of healthcare’s innovation leaders on how they’re tackling today’s pressing issues:

• Tobe Cohen, EVP, Chief Science, Technology & Innovation Officer, Pharmavite — on how to instill a culture of innovation in a large incumbent
• Rajesh Aggarwal, EVP, Jefferson Strategic Ventures — on how to execute and scale win-win partnerships
• John Geyer, Chief Innovation Officer, Metlife — on how to foster internal ideation that leads to real products
• Erik Lium, EVP, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners —  on how to commercialize new ideas 

• Scott Belsky, author of The Messy Middle
• Scott Galloway, author of The Four
• Tom Griffiths, author of Algorithms to Live By
• Rita McGrath, author of Seeing Around Corners

The event is just two weeks away, but there’s still time to register. Use the code BIGIDEAS to get $650 off your registration fee. 

Going after the $780B pharma industry
 

It’s no secret that tech players have ambitions in the healthcare industry. They're attempting to leverage data and emerging technologies like AI to create new solutions.

These efforts may end up taking on traditional pharma industry roles, from conducting drug research to handling supply chain logistics. 

Each market within the pharmaceutical industry presents new opportunities for the tech incumbents looking to increase their footprints in healthcare.  

Google, the hospital

Once solely known for its search engine, Google has been building up its AI capabilities over the years — positioning the company well to pursue an industry like healthcare.
 

[Client Research] Unbundling The Hospital: How Google Is Using AI To Disrupt Radiology And Other Diagnostics. As part of a series on how Google plans to use AI to take over the hospital, we examine how it plans to do this in radiology & other diagnostics. Read it here.  

[Client Research] How Big Tech Is Tackling The $780B Pharmaceuticals Industry. Big tech incumbents are moving into healthcare, tackling many gaps in the industry. We take a closer look at how the pharma sector could be revamped through these efforts. Read it here.  

[Client Research] Fitbit Just Got Acquired. These 7 Wearables Startups Could Be Next. Following Google’s $2.1B acquisition of Fitbit, other wearables startups could become attractive acquisition targets for industry players. Check out our list here.

Global Healthcare Report Q3 2019. We take a data-driven look at global healthcare technology investment trends, top deals, active investors, and corporate activity in Q3’19. Read it here. 

News
 

Kroger launches 360care. The grocery retailer launched its healthcare initiative — Kroger 360care — allowing hospitals to offer lower-cost healthcare through its stores. 
GroceryDive

Sanofi + Aetion. France-based pharma company Sanofi announced that it will integrate its real-world data platform (Darwin) with Aetion’s platform for advancing its understanding of drugs.
MedCityNews

Hims plans to raise. Men’s health startup Hims is reported to be raising another $200M in capital using its growth figures as this category of startups becomes a “booming business.”   
CNBC

Google demos EHR-like tool. Google Health revealed a clinical documentation tool, which is in the pilot phase, that allows an integrated charting system and a shorthand search feature.
MobiHealthNews 

Deals

Novartis buys The Medicines Company. In a $9.7B deal, Novartis is acquiring the drug company that focuses on cardiovascular disease including cholesterol-lowering products.   
MarketWatch

Nines raises. Nines, a tele-radiology startup raised a $16.5M Series A round led by Accel & 8VC. It offers a tele-radiology service with live specialists along with a AI-based triage tool for radiologists.
MobiHealthNews

BCBS funds Wellframe. Wellframe — a platform for health plans to have higher patient engagement with their care teams — raised a $20M Series C round, led by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners.
HITConsultant

A liquid biopsy raises. Singapore-based liquid biopsy company Lucence raised a $20M Series A round with investors including IHH Healthcare, SGInnovate, and Heliconia Capital. Lucence develops blood tests for cancer screening.
MedCityNews

Perspectives

Consequences to poor diabetes care. Jane E. Brody discusses how many of the 30M+ Americans affected with diabetes may not be “adequately” controlling for the 4 major factors that lead to serious complications.  
New York Times

Lax oversight on EHRs. Fred Schulte (@FredSchulte) & Erika Fry (@erikafry) investigate how special interests and congressional inaction have stalled efforts to regulate electronic health records (EHRs) — ultimately hurting patients. 
Kaiser Health News

Street medicine. Sam Whitehead (@sclaudwhitehead) explores a public health initiative known as “street medicine,” where health care providers bring medical care to homeless people, hoping to build relationships and breaking down stigmas. 
NPR